Scott Spencer's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maryland Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| Though I personally find abortion to be a disgusting, repulsive practice, it is, ultimately, a very personal choice, and I would not move to ban it at the federal level. | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Maintain Status | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Maintain Status | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Eliminate | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Eliminate | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| i) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| (1c) It may seem contradictory to say that I would greatly decrease overall defense spending, but not show many individual categories that I would greatly decrease. The greatest savings, though, could be realized by the closing of many foreign bases. (2) I support eliminate nearly all federal taxes, and replacing them with a single source of revenue, like the FairTax. There are many benefits to the proposed FairTax, not least of which is that it would help eliminate the politics of different types of tax cuts and credits. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| No | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| (a) More accurately, I support eliminating the program. If past results are any indication, individuals who saved as much as they contributed to Social Security would almost always realize more of a payout in retirement than that provided by the system. (d) I do not, however, support mandatory union membership, like that forced upon many public school teachers. Individuals should have the opportunity to bargain for themselves, as well. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| No | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| (f) The responsibility of the executive branch is not to make or interpret the law, but to enforce it. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| (a) I'm torn on this issue. While I believe that there are those who are beyond rehabilitation, the potential for executing an innocent person exists, and is ultimately worse than the burden of incarcerating a convict for life. (b & c) I support these concepts, but would not support federal funding for such programs. | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| (a-e) I do not support federal involvement in, or funding of, education. Funds should remain as close as possible to the source, out of the hands of bureaucrats. I fully support school choice, including charter schools and voucher programs, but they should be implemented at the local level, with local oversight, rather than at the federal level. | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| No | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| No | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| (c) I do not support a system of "carbon credits" at all, so "cap and trade" would be irrelevant. (g) I support the use of private funds, not public funds, for the development of nuclear reactors. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| Regardless of the wording of the Second Amendment, research into the opinions of the founders shows that their intention in writing it was clear: it was meant to guarantee to the citizens of this country the right to defend themselves, whether from common criminals, foreign invasion, or even their own government, should the need arise. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| (b) I would support removing many of the obstacles to obtaining insurance that currently exist, including permitting the purchase of insurance from companies in other states. (c) Ultimately, I would prefer the elimination of the income tax, making this particular issue irrelevant. (d) I would, however, support the creation of a "loser pays" tort system, which should help in eliminating frivolous lawsuits. The result should be similar: lower malpractice insurance premiums. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| (c) I'm aware that this is a contentious point, but there are very practical reasons for establishing an official language. For instance, it would help in eliminating cost and confusion were government publications published in a single language. Companies and private organizations would still have every right to publish materials in whatever language they see fit. (d) I do, however, support federal enforcement of these laws, which has been lacking. | |||
| No | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| No | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| No | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| (f) I personally support the creation of a Palestinian state, but the US government should stay out of the affairs of other nations. It is one thing to act as an impartial arbiter. It is another thing entirely to use our power to influence others. (i) While I support free trade, so-called "free trade agreements" have often had little to do with truly free trade. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| (a) I believe that "marriage" should be reserved as a religious institution, but that all unions, including same-sex unions, should be equal, civil unions in the eyes of the law. (d) The government should end its own affirmative action programs. If private companies or organizations choose to maintain such programs, they should be free to do so. | |||
| I would work to eliminate some of the unnecessary, unsuccessful, and unconstitutional bureaucracies in the federal government, including the Departments of Education, Energy, and Health and Human Services. I would also work to de-fund our continued presence in many foreign countries. The maintainance of troops in roughly 130 countries is incredibly expensive, and creates international tension and distrust. |
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